Dismal Angel Episode 10: Ace of Hearts
by AngelExposed
Summary: It's Halloween, and whilst Remy is still in New Orleans, Rogue takes off to a nightclub for a night of fun, coming across a rumour that a simple pill might be able to solve ALL her problems (finished - R&R)
1. Chapter 1: Plans for Celebration

**Chapter 1: Plans for Celebration**

             November was nearing, about to cast its cold term and icy breezes over Bayville, the flowers in the gardens had long since died of exposure to the frosts that the season shed, and the whitish sky held the promise of a snowfall soon to come – all the signs of a harsh winter and November wasn't even upon them.

             Rogue stared out of the window distantly, Halloween was only one more day away, the mansion was already filled with large jack-o-lanterns, paper skeletons and spiders hanging on almost every doorway, and silhouettes of witches and ghosts upon the windows.  It had been Bobby and Amara's idea to decorate the Mansion for Halloween.

             Rogue smiled slightly amused at how the Mansion looked, she had to admit, Halloween was one of her most favourite seasons, it wasn't anything to do with the fact that she herself was a Goth and enjoyed most things dark and unnatural – such as night when the dead was rumoured to walk amongst the living, and witches would brew potions in their large pewter cauldrons. 

             The only real reason she could find for her love of Halloween that it was just all about fun – it always had been when she was a child in school, and now even though she was sixteen, she knew she'd find some way to celebrate it.

             The library was almost silent, save the ticking of an old Grandfather clock against a wall, and the crackling of the flames in the large stone fireplace on one side of the room.  She leaned against the large mahogany table she was sitting at, and turned towards Kitty Pryde, who was wearing a large – and rather absurd looking – knitted sweater with a reindeer on it.  

             Kitty was flicking through a huge dictionary, "what does tumescent mean," she asked desperately, as if she were trying to break some kind of studying time record to get as much of her reading done as possible before four thirty approached and they could leave their studying for the day.

             "I think it means swollen," Rogue replied, she glanced back to the window, "it's Halloween tomorrow, you know…" she pointed out.

             "Ugh, don't remind me," Kitty made a face, "Every Halloween something bad happens to me," she stated.

             "Something bad?" Rogue raised an eyebrow, "Like?" she was now curious, she leaned a little closer to Kitty, keeping her voice low just in case one of the instructors might be lurking in the hallway outside and perhaps hear them talking instead of studying.

             Kitty kept flicking through the dictionary, "when I was twelve me and some friends went trick or treating and at the end of the night they tied me to a tree and I was there half the night until the police found me," Kitty stated.

             Rogue pressed her hand to her mouth to stop from laughing, "I need to remember that one," she giggled.

             Kitty rolled her large blue eyes, whilst running her index finger down a line of text in the dictionary, "you were right," she stated.

             "I know I was right," Rogue stated, "so…what you got planned for Halloween?" she asked.

             Kitty turned and looked at Rogue, "oh no you don't…"

             Kurt glanced up from his book at the other end of the table, around six feet away from the girls.  "What are you two talking about?"

             Kitty closed the dictionary, "she's going to try and sucker me into going to the—"

             Rogue elbowed Kitty sharply in the ribs, "Shut up!"

             "To the what?" Kurt asked.

             Kitty blurted it out, "The Asylum."

             Kurt raised an eyebrow, "a mental asylum?" he asked naively.

             "No," Rogue kept her voice hushed, "lower your voice," she added.

             Kurt got up and moved to their end of the table, he stood opposite where the girls were sitting, he put his elbows on the table and leaned closer to listen in.  "What's asylum?" He asked in a whisper.

             "It's a nightclub – an over 21's," Rogue admitted, "they're having a massive Halloween bash tomorrow night, drinks will sell for a buck."

             "No way," Kitty said, she pulled out a note book and wrote something down, "I've followed you into that place twice now, I'm not doin' it a third time," She stated, "You get way too drunk."

             Kurt raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you drank…" he seemed concerned.

             "I don't…not really," Rogue rolled her eyes, "It's just…" she ran her fingers through her hair absently, her hair was shorter than it had been in a long time, she'd cut it so that it remained slightly long at the front and shorter at the back, it seemed to make her white streaks even more prominent than they had been ever before.  "I drink when I go out clubbing," she said, "But I only ever really got drunk once, and I was really ill the next day," she kept her still in a soft murmur so that it could not be heard from outside the room.

             "She was a mess that day," Kitty smirked, "cold sweat, her hair everywhere, make up down her face, she looked like a clown – and all this with her head in the toilet."

             Rogue nudged Kitty playfully, "Oh come on…"

             "What's it like in there?" Kurt asked curiously.

             "Gothic," Kitty said, "loud music, flashing lights, alcohol, and weirdos."

             "Tomorrow it will be awesome, c'mon?" Rogue looked at Kitty pleadingly, "Please?"

             "No," Kitty sighed, "I can't, I have stuff to do," she shrugged, "sorry."

             Rogue looked at Kurt with pleading eyes.

             "Sorry, I, uh…also, have stuff to do," Kurt gave a sympathetic glance.

             "I'll go alone then," Rogue shrugged.

             "You sure that's, like, a good idea?" Kitty asked worriedly.

             "I'll be fine," Rogue scrawled her name on the top of her piece of paper, "you remember the last time, don't you?" 

             Kitty gained a smirk, "yeah…I do, that's what scares me, YOU might be fine, but the rest of the clubbers might come back with no balls," she joked.

             Rogue smirked, "If that's how it has to be, then that's how it has to be."

             After study period was over, Rogue headed upstairs, her books dangling from one hand, her pen and pencil from the other, just as she got to the top of the stairs she could hear a little ditty being played out from what sounded to be a cellular phone, she stopped, listening carefully.

             She recognised it – the tune from the Addams family, it was her phone.  Still holding her schoolbooks, she rushed down the hall as fast as her feet would carry her and burst through the door, tossing the books, paper and pencil away and leaping onto the bed to grab her phone from the nightstand.

             Quickly, Rogue pressed 'receive' on the phone and put it to her ear, "hello?"

             "Bonjoir."

             Rogue felt her heart thud in her chest.  It was who she'd hoped it would be, Remy LeBeau, calling from New Orleans, where he'd gone to for some time out.  She hadn't seen or heard from him in two weeks – when he'd left Muir Island.  

             "Oh, Remy, it's only you," she stated in a very calm uninterested voice, to trick him into believing she wasn't sitting there smiling like an idiot that he had finally called.

             Remy LeBeau, on the other end of the connection, gave a laugh, "of course it's me, who else would be calling you?"

             "Oh, I don't know, the string of boyfriends I have who are totally in love with me," Rogue gushed with a smirk.

             "Only one I know of," Remy replied.

             "So…" Rogue trailed off, "why'd it take so long for you to call me?" She demanded, "I mean you went off to New Orleans, not a letter or a phonecall to say you even arrived, I was sitting here wondering if the Assassins hadn't, uhm…assassinated you."

             "I'm still alive, but barely, been in a few brawls, but nothing big," Remy replied, "how did Xavier respond to you when you got back?" he referred to the fact that when they had been in Muir Island, they'd had to tell Hank McCoy some white lies that they were a couple to cover up for a break in at the Mutant Research Centre that they had not even been involved in.  Disapproving of the four year age difference between Remy LeBeau and the girl known as Rogue, Hank had immediately informed Professor Xavier – and Rogue and Remy were to be reprimanded upon their return.

             "I got a telling off, but that was about it," Rogue stated, "I just hope he doesn't go nosing through my head to find out the truth – or anything else for that matter," she admitted.

             "Same here," Remy admitted.

             "So, do you have things sorted out there?  Have you ditched Bella Donna yet?" Rogue referred to Bella Donna, the woman who Remy was unwillingly betrothed to marry, Remy had intended to go and break off the engagement – it was one of the conditions that Rogue had stated were in the understanding that she would be with him only if he did so.

             "Not yet…" Remy trailed off, "things right now here are hectic, you wouldn't believe the shit that's goin' down…" Remy admitted, "I got bigger fish to fry," he stated.

             "I…see…" Rogue trailed off.

             "Don't worry, Chere," Remy sounded suddenly as if he were making excuses, "I'm going to do it, seriously, I just haven't had time yet, but I will…" he said.  

             "How much longer do you think you'll be away?" Rogue asked.

             "Chere, we said three months," Remy reminded, "its been two weeks…"

             "I know, but two weeks seems like forever when you're in this miserable place," Rogue sighed, "Remy, I never thought I'd say this, but I want you here right now…there's this party tomorrow I'm going to go to and I want you there with me – I don't want to have to go alone."

             "I just…I can't do it, Chere, I'm sorry," Remy said, "Not gonna lie to you, I have bigger problems, believe me…"

             Rogue suddenly felt concerned, "Is everything going on alright over there?" she asked worriedly, she sat up, holding the phone to her ear.

             "No, everythin's not alright, but I'm not gonna trouble you with the details right now," Remy admitted, "I have to go, I'm on a payphone…" 

             "Oh, okay…" Rogue was disappointed.

             "Chere, I'm doin' everything in my power to get this all sorted out as quickly as possible…you know what I told you about my family and Belle's family…it isn't easy to just ditch the daughter of the leader of an Assassin's guild and walk away alive…" he reminded, "I gotta do this with tact…"

             "I…understand," Rogue sighed, "You better go."

             "You mad at me?" Remy asked, his voice slightly concerned on the other end of the phone.

             "Yes, but you'll get a chance to make it up to me later…bye," Rogue said and hung up.  The minute she put the phone down she picked up her pillow and screamed into, the fabric muffling her voice.

             "Something wrong?" Kitty was standing at the door, Rogue realised she had only been there for the last portion of the phone call.

             "Remy called," Rogue sighed, "He's going to be in New Orleans for a while," she shrugged.

             "So?" Kitty also shrugged, and walked over to her nightstand and placed her school books upon it.

             "So I wanted him to go to the party with me tomorrow night," Rogue whined, she tossed the pillow at the wall stubbornly.  "Instead of being here with me, he's off in Cajun land with some girl he's going to marry!"

             Kitty had heard this a thousand times in the last two weeks, Rogue had finally given in and told Kitty about Remy's future wife, and the feud between the guilds.  "He isn't going to marry her, he told you he'd break the engagement and he will," Kitty picked up the pillow Rogue had thrown and tossed it back onto Rogue's bed.

             "Maybe I should go to New Orleans to make sure they don't kill him," Rogue said wistfully.

             "You can't, your responsibility is to be here, get your school work done, and be a bitch to everyone who crosses your path," Kitty joked.

             Rogue smirked a little, "That I can do."

             "Stop worrying about Remy so much, he'll be fine.  Instead, worry about how the hell you're going to sneak out of here with Professor Xavier and Logan in the house."

             "Oh, that'll be easy," Rogue admitted with a grin upon her pale face, "because you're going to short circuit the security system in the war room which is going to take a couple of days to fix, that should distract him long enough for me to leave without him even realising it, and he'll probably STILL be trying to fix it and reconfigure all the alarms by the time I get back."

             "You want me to do that?!" Kitty gaped, "Oh come ON, Rogue, that's so not fair dragging me in on this."

             "You're my best friend, aren't you?" Rogue raised an eyebrow.

             Kitty winced, "yes…"

             Rogue smirked, "Then you'll do it for me."


	2. Chapter 2: The Rumour

Chapter 2: The Rumour

             Kitty Pryde – along with Rogue in tow – headed into the war room the next night around 8pm.  It was Halloween.  Kurt had taken the younger mutants out trick or treating, and Kitty was meant to be helping Logan clean the hanger area – it was her turn on this particular chore.

             "Professssssssor," Kitty stated as she entered the war room, her voice bright and cheerful as ever, Professor Xavier looked over his shoulder, noticing Kitty was holding a book on Greek Mythology.

             "Yes, Kitty…"

             Rogue looked at Kitty, wondering how in the world Kitty was going to accidentally phase her way through the security computers, she followed Kitty over to where Professor Xavier was in his wheelchair, typing commands in to view various camera angles on the whole of the Mansion's property.

             "Me and Rogue were having this argument, I was wondering if maybe…you could, uhm…settle it for us?" Kitty stated, she leaned near the control panel, Rogue realised she was going to do it subtly by phasing through it sooner or later.

             "Alright, what is it?" Professor Xavier queried.

             Rogue wondered herself, Kitty hadn't even prompted her about what the argument was yet.

             "Well…" Kitty opened her book of Greek Mythology and gestured to a page, "Its about King Midas…" she said, she glanced up to Rogue when Professor Xavier wasn't looking, "I was thinking, y'know, I mean he's the king everyone said could turn any object he touched into solid gold…" she explained.

             "Yes, I know the myths," Professor Xavier, "what about it?"

             Kitty glanced to Rogue, "Well…Rogue thinks that it's just a stupid story someone made up to ward people off of the evils of being greedy, whilst I…" Kitty showed him a paper she'd written, "am doing a thesis on the possibility that King Midas might have been a mutant, only in his time, this might have been looked at as a curse – or blessing, depending which way you look at it – sent by the Gods?" Kitty asked.

             Professor Xavier looked blank, "Well…I…"

             "I mean isn't it, like, plausible, Professor?" Kitty asked.

             "No way…" Rogue pretended to be in on the argument, as if it had actually happened just like Kitty had said, "every Greek and Roman myth ever known seems to have some moral to the story, this is just one of them, this is just another way that storytellers could tell people that there's a price to pay for becoming greedy…I mean it just suddenly happened, one day, wham, he's slapped in the face with powers that could turn anything to gold – and he couldn't even eat or drink so it became his undoing…" Rogue pointed out.

             "You have to be kidding me!" Kitty gaped, "I mean, our own mutant powers presented themselves with us in what seemed almost completely overnight, Yours is a prime example of that, I mean what if King Midas just happened to be like us and his powers manifested over night, and became his undoing, it has nothing to do with the morals of being greedy at all!" Kitty was becoming quite convincing, Rogue had begun to realise that Kitty had already written out a thesis on this long in advance and it so well memorised and thought out, that it was almost frightening.

             "Girls, girls…" Professor Xavier held his hands up as if he had the power to miraculously shut both girls up by waving his hands in such a way.  His face was warped in utter amusement – at least both girls were having a very intelligent argument as opposed to the general arguments about who's taste in music was worse.  "Both your theories on this are very interesting, both are certainly possible.  This would make an interesting subject for your debate due next week, if you would care to speak about it in front of the rest of the students about it, you could gain extra credit," he smiled a little.

             "Sounds good," Kitty smiled, realising at least if she had to phase through the security control panel and break it all, she'd get some extra credit out of the brilliant lie she'd come up with to distract Professor Xavier from the real agenda.

             Rogue's face dropped, _oh great, now I have extra work to do_, she thought, but she realised this was a price she'd had to pay, Rogue suddenly saw something on one of the monitors that had a security camera gazing upon the hanger area.  "Is that a B2 Stealth Bomber?!" she asked in surprise.

             "Yes, it is," Professor Xavier smiled, "isn't it beautiful?"

             "That thing must have cost you a fortune," Kitty closer to the monitor to stare at the plane.  

             "Yes, it did," Professor Xavier noted, "Hank is going to be adding a few personal touches to it."

             "Can I learn to fly that?" Rogue asked excitedly.

             "One day," Professor Xavier smirked a little.

             Kitty did as she'd planned, it was then that she phased herself through the whole control panel and her arm, as it flailed out, flew through three of the monitors on the panel, she gasped in shock as if it really had been accidental.

             The machines and control panel made a strange sound and a few electric blue sparks emanated from the machinery.  Kitty yanked herself up phasing through the machine again, which only seemed to make it worse.

             "Oh my god, Professor!" Kitty put her hand to her mouth, "I'm so sorry…"

             "Kitty…what have I told you about carelessly leaning near electronic hardware?" Charles Xavier sighed deeply.

             "Uhm…don't do it…" Kitty chewed her lip, she looked very guilty.

             Rogue quietly crept out of the war room whilst Kitty was given an apt telling off.  Rogue silently promised herself she'd make it up to Kitty, somehow.

             When she arrived at the Halloween Party in the night club known as Asylum, the place was already busy.  She'd snuck in through a hatch in the roof, she'd had to break the lock on the hatch to get in though – she felt slightly guilty for destroying their property, but it was only a padlock, it was easily replaceable. 

             There were black balloons everywhere in the night club, ghostly figures, people in costume, and the bars were selling drinks cheap – some new concoctions were tainted with food colouring – and were blood red, bright orange, or purple.  Rogue smirked a little, feeling right at home against all the other costumed patrons.

             Rogue bought a few drinks and found a table, and she sat watching the other people dance, she wished she hadn't come alone, but somewhat didn't regret having come.    She thought about Remy – and wondered sullenly what he was doing at that precise moment.  She had horrid visions of him with this other woman – this Bella Donna.  Rogue was scared he might be with her at that very moment, perhaps they were making love – in ways that Remy and herself would never ever experience.

             Rogue sipped her drink, with her idle hand tracing imaginary love-hearts on the tabletop, she was beginning to feel concern that this situation with Remy might not be the best thing.  After all, everything that had happened in the past few months had made sure a relationship would not be easy to acquire, why should she think that this would have changed now?

             She thought about Remy as she'd seen him standing at the very bar she was looking at now, him with his mussed dark brown hair, his chiselled good looks and his stylish clothes. 

             Rogue would have given anything for him to be there at that bar right then, where she could see him, and scrutinise him, at least he'd be so close she'd be able to touch him – even if the cotton of his shirts and the leather of her gloves would be between them, at least he'd be close enough to touch, that'd be the next best thing.  

             _What am I doing here alone, _she pondered wearily.  She wished one of the others had come with her, 

             As she watched people slide across the dance floor in their ghoulish costumes, she was reminded of the night she'd first entered the club with Kitty Pryde.  She'd been outside the club before, never inside, yet, remembered vaguely lying to Kitty that she'd been there before – as if she were maybe trying to convince Kitty that she had belonged somewhere – that there was somewhere she did fit in.

             That night played itself in her head in vague pieces.  Some things about that night, she had been too drunk to remember the next day, but dancing with Remy, it stood out so clearly in her mind, how she'd grabbed his bare hand, and begun to dance with him drunkenly across the dance floor.  That seemed as if it were the first time she'd ever reached out to touch him willingly.  She wouldn't have guessed then, through all the hatred she was feeling towards him, that she might have fallen for him, but something about him drew her in – it was almost like an addiction…

             "It's true, I swear it."

             Rogue could hear people talking over the music, their voices loud to drown out a heavy Marilyn Manson song, Rogue had little choice but to listen in, since they were so near her table.

             "It's nothing more than a rumour, dude."

             Rogue glanced up, there were two men – who's backs faced her -  one with very long dark brown hair braided at the back of his head, he was swathed in black, the other man was wearing a bandana, and a pirates costume, a fake hook dangling from his fingertips.  Rogue resisted the urge to tell them to go somewhere else to talk, that she wanted to wallow in the despair in total solitude, and think about the man she couldn't be with.

             But she didn't, she held her tongue, and listened.

             "It's not a rumour, I know this guy…he can get it…" the Pirate remarked.

             "How do you know it works?" the man with the braid queried, he was leaning near a stone pillar, a drink in his free hand.

             "The guy out there swears he's a mutant," the Pirate explained, "said he took the shit and now he's normal…"

             "So he took a pill once, and now he's not a mutant," the one with the braid sounded sceptical, "doesn't sound possible."

             Rogue raised an eyebrow, looking at both of their backs, listening intently.

             "No, you have to keep taking the pills," the Pirate responded to his friend, "but it's guaranteed to stop it…"

             Rogue got up from her table slowly, "excuse me…" she called to their backs.

             They both turned around, and looked at her, one seemed amused, especially at the snowy streaks in her hair, the other seemed slightly attracted to her.  "What?" asked the one with the braid.

             "I couldn't help overhearing, what's this pill you're talking about?" she kept her eyes on the Pirate, who'd seemed to have all the answers.

             The Pirate had intense blue eyes, and when he spoke, Rogue felt as if she were swimming in those eyes, especially as he told her the words.  "I know a guy who claims to be some sort of genius, can give a mutant a pill, turn them human for a spell," he explained.

             Rogue felt her breath catching in her throat, could this be true?  "That's impossible…" she stated, seeming to remember hearing his friend say something quite similar, "it isn't like mutants have a disease…it's a genetic abnormality," she pointed out.

             "Right, and these pills are supposedly like DNA replacement therapy or some shit," Pirate gave a shrug.

             Rogue looked at him, could this be true?  It sounded like some sort of crazy rumour alright, just as the man with the braided hair seemed to believe.  Yet inside she felt as if it could be true – Hank McCoy had used some kind of serum to slow his mutation process down and keep his mutation under control up until joining the X-Men.  If that had been possible, wasn't it possible these pills could be too?

             "Where…can I find the guy who can give these pills out?" Rogue queried.

             "You can't…" the Pirate stated with a smirk.

             Rogue squinted, and grabbed him by the throat, pushing him forcefully against the pillar with her superhuman strength, "tell me!"

             "Okay, Okay!" the Pirate's eyes bulged out of his head, his face tainted with fear, he was trembling violently.  "He hangs out in the abandoned toy factory on the end of Greer Street!  That's all I know!" he put his hands up as if to defend himself.

             "There now, that wasn't difficult at all, now, was it, Sugar?" she smirked, she let him go, and stepped back, "what's his name…?"

             "Pinocchio," the Pirate stuttered.

             Rogue began to head for the doorway, intent on heading straight for that abandoned toy factory, the had crossed the room halfway when she realised that she was in trouble. 

             Logan was standing at the entrance to the hallway, and he was looking right at her, he didn't look so amused.

             "Shit…" she whispered under her breath, she began to walk over sheepishly.

             "That's three times you've played us for fools, Rogue," Logan muttered, he grabbed her by the elbow, "c'mon."

             Rogue let him drag her out of the club, and out into the cold street, he threw her towards the van, forcefully but not to hurt her, just to give her a taste of how angry he was, "I can explain…" Rogue lied.

             "Bullshit," Logan unlocked the van, "get in," he instructed.

             Rogue climbed in and sat down, pulling on her seatbelt.  Logan got in to the drivers seat and started up the van.  "Does the professor know?" she asked quietly.

             "Not yet," Logan replied haughtily, "but he's going to, once we get back."

             "Logan, I just…"

             "Y'know, ever since you met that Cajun asswipe you've been actin' out of sorts.  I let you away with the first time because I thought you were just venting frustration, the second time I wasn't even around for," he muttered, "I didn't have much proof," he added.

             Rogue looked at him, "how did you know there was a second time?" she demanded.

             "Came across some of Kitty's clothes in a hamper in the Laundry room that had the stink of booze on them, and Kitty's not the type to go bar hopping," Logan stated.  

Rogue looked away guiltily, "Y'know, I can play Mr Nice Guy, hard as it is to do, I'm willing to cut a kid some slack – I know you've had it hard, Rogue, I don't deny that at all," he kept his eyes on the road, "and I won't deny I probably pulled a similar stunt when I was your age – if I could remember ever bein' your age," he stated, "but fact is, you don't bite the hand that feeds you…fact is, I told you the first time I'd let you away with it only once, you've done this three times now, and this time you're not getting away with it."

             "But, Logan…" Rogue looked at him pleadingly.

             "Don't give me that puppy dog eye crap, Rogue, I'm not falling for it – just sit there, and shut up," he warned.

             "You're not my father!" Rogue spat at him, the words spilled of her like a ruptured water main, she almost regretted saying it.

             Logan stopped the van, and turned towards her, his eyes blazing, "yeah, you're right, I'm NOT your father," he frowned, "but if I don't act as if I am, who the fuck is?"

             His words felt like acid on raw flesh, they stung, she looked away again, severe emotion building behind her eyes.

             "That Cajun is a bad influence on you," Logan muttered, he lit a cigar, and smoke filled the inside of the van, Rogue didn't even budge to open a window, "I wish I'd never made you two go out together, maybe you wouldn't be actin' this way now if I hadn't," he muttered.

             "It wasn't you," Rogue finally said.

             "What's going on with you, you used to be a good kid, Rogue, now you're out drinkin', Hank told me you're flirtin' and goin' out with the Cajun after curfew…" Logan said.  "I wouldn't like to think that you two are doin' things you shouldn't…" he trailed off.

             "We aren't," Rogue assured, she rubbed her head a little, "are you going to tell the professor…"

             Logan made a face, "Afraid so…"

             Rogue carefully slipped off one of her gloves, "I'm sorry, Logan," she murmured.

             "For?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

             "This…" Rogue placed her bare hand upon his own, that was curled tightly around the steering wheel, the van swerved, and he let out a gasp, his eyes glazed over, his mouth hanging open as if he wanted to cry out in pain but could not.

             Rogue closed her eyes tightly trying to fight out the images that came into her mind, Logan's thoughts, his feelings, his senses, his powers.  She let go of Logan, he slumped forward onto the wheel, upon the horn that began to beep loudly, she pushed him slightly aside and slipped her own leg through where his own were and hit the brakes, the van pulled to a stop.

             Rogue pulled him off the steering wheel and pushed him so his head was back against the head rest, she put her bare hand against his covered chest, making sure there was still a heart beat.  Yes, it was still there, still strong.

             Rogue reminded herself that Logan healed quicker, he would probably come to soon enough.  In the meantime, she climbed out, watching him carefully.  She had very little time to do what she'd set to do.


	3. Chapter 3: Pinocchio

Chapter 3: Pinocchio

             Rogue made her way to the abandoned toy factory on Greer Street by her ability of flight, realising the sky was the only place on earth she couldn't go that she could be traced by Logan's heightened senses.  She arrived at the abandoned toy factory ten minutes after having immobilised Logan, she landed lightly on the inside of the gates, and headed towards the building cautiously.

             The building was constructed of old brick and dark cement, it looked as if it had stood there for a hundred years, there were broken windows, half boarded up, and a door with a broken padlock hung half open.  She felt nervousness catch in the back of her throat.

             She reminded herself not to panic, she might be alone, but she wasn't vulnerable as she might have been before gaining Miss Marvel's powers.  Feeling slightly more confidence, she approached the door.  She pulled upon the large iron door and it slowly swung open, creaking loudly in a foreboding way, as if it were warning her to leave.  She continued, and stepped through, leaving the door wide open.

             There were no lights on in the building, but through a broken window laced with wire mesh, she could see light spilling in from outside, probably from street lights, it cast a strange orange glow across the back of the room, in the shape of a malformed square, she headed towards it.

             _Pinocchio, I'm looking for Pinocchio_, she thought timidly, she held her breath, her heart beating fast, her pulse racing.  She took off both of her gloves off and shoved them in the pocket of her skirt, and she steadily continued forward.

             _Be prepared, anything could happen_, she told herself wisely, she glanced around her, in the darkness she could make out scattered toys, a child's baby doll laying on the floor, it's head bashed in, its remaining one eye looked up at her reminding her of the dead stare that corpses always seemed to have in horror movies.  She felt chills find their way up her spine, she shivered.

             _Ignore it, ignore it_…

             "Who're you?" there came a voice, it was nervous, shady, and she could not detect its whereabouts, all she could tell was he had a distinctive British accent.

             Rogue spun around, looking all around her anxiously, wondering where the voice had come from, her heart felt as if it had suddenly stopped, she found it hard to breathe.  "Where are you?" she stammered.

             "Tell me who you are!" the voice demanded of her, it was definitely a man's voice, it sounded seedy, and scared, not what she'd expected at all.

             "I'm looking for Pinocchio…" Rogue trailed off.

             "I asked YOUR name, not mines!" the voice – now confirmed as Pinocchio – yelled at her.

             "Rogue, my name is Rogue…" Rogue looked all around her, "I came here for…"

             "Drugs," Pinocchio responded, still hiding, Rogue wished he'd come out.

             "Can you at least come out where I can see you?" Rogue demanded impatiently.

             "Show me your hands, I want to make sure you're not holding any weapons…" Pinocchio responded.

             Rogue held her hands up, cautiously turning around, when she turned back, the man was in front of her, he could not have been any older than thirty, he looked drawn and pale, with messy black hair, dull brown eyes and a very prominent, long nose.  Now she understood why they called him Pinocchio.  

             "What did you come for…coke?" Pinocchio was donning a brown trenchcoat, he shifted from foot to foot anxiously, his eyes darting left and right, and then looking at her suspiciously.

             "I…heard rumours about a pill…" Rogue looked at him, "a pill that…when you give it to a—"

             Pinocchio put his hand up to hush her, she stepped back, slightly jarred that he would perhaps try to touch her, the last thing she needed was a junkie's thoughts in her own head.  That could be dangerous.   "Ssh!  My regulars won't be so happy if they find out I deal to people like you as well…"

Rogue frowned, how dare he make such a comment, hadn't the guys in the nightclub mentioned that Pinocchio was a mutant himself?  

"You have money?" he demanded.

             "Some…" Rogue went through her pocket, she had less than thirty dollars upon her person.

             He looked at her, and gave her a nasty look as if she were wasting his time, "it's going to cost you more than that, darlin'," he responded.

             "This is all I have…"

             "Too bad," Pinocchio stated firmly, he was about to turn.

             Rogue drew her breath, "How much?"

             "Five hundred," Pinocchio replied.

             Rogue gaped, "dollars!?"

             "No, pesetas, what do YOU think," he glanced over his shoulder at her.

             Rogue folded her arms, "Why is the cost so high?" she demanded.

             "They're high in demand, darlin', it's not cheap to fly all the way to Scotland from here just to get the supplies I need to make them," he turned towards her.

             Rogue suddenly felt a jolt rush through her, Scotland?  "Muir Island?" she queried.

             "I never disclose the place of my Supply," he replied, but he already had, Scotland had been mentioned, and the only place Rogue knew would have such supplies of drugs and chemicals for such a remedy for mutant powers would be Muir Island. 

             "What does it matter to you?" he gave a nonchalant shrug.

             Rogue lost her temper, she pushed him up against the wall, grabbing a hold of his collar, she frowned, "You bastard!  It was you stealing from Muir Island that night!" she clenched her teeth.  "You got me and my friend framed!"

             Pinocchio's eyes widened in surprise, but he tried to remain calm, "Its not my fault if you got yourself into my mess," he tried to push her away from him, but was having a hard time trying.

             Rogue slammed his back hard into the wall, she hoped it hurt intensely.  "Hand the pills over!"

             "Or what?" He raised an eyebrow.

             Rogue looked at him, "Or I'll be going STRAIGHT to the police," she warned.

             "Yeah?" He smirked, "Tell them I said hi."

             Rogue slammed his back against the wall again, "or worse…I'll take you to Professor Xavier…"

             "X…X…Xavier…" Pinocchio's eyes suddenly became very wide, he obviously knew the name.

             "Oh, so you know who he is then?" Rogue demanded.

             "Yes!  Don't take me to him, please!" Pinocchio looked petrified.

             "Why are you so—" she was about to ask why he was so scared, but he reached into his jacket and pulled out tiny plastic bags full of pills, finally he came across a tiny bag of pills – they were blue, and stood out against the others which were now scattered over the floor. 

             "Take them all, just don't take me to him, please!" Pinocchio begged.

             Rogue grabbed the bag of blue pills from his hand, and looked at them, "are you sure these are the right pills?" She demanded.

             "Yes, just please let me go!" Pinocchio pleaded.

             Rogue let his collar go, "get out of here" she pushed him so that he fell sideways.  He pulled himself to his feet and scampered off, and disappeared into the darkness.  Rogue picked up the other bags of pills he'd dropped, she decided she'd find some way of disposing them, it was better leaving them there for some one else to find.

             She slipped all the bags of pills into her pocket, and she left the place silently, she had what she wanted, now she had to experiment before Logan could possibly find her.


	4. Chapter 4: NonPrescription

Chapter 4: Non-Prescription

             Rogue didn't feel like flying when she left the toy factory, she left walking quickly.  She figured Logan wouldn't be tracking her anyway even if he had awoken, she'd flown a good enough distance to the toy factory, and Logan's senses couldn't pick her up from so far away by now.  She felt she didn't have to concern herself.  There was a small river under a bridge a half a mile away, which she walked to, she pulled the various bags of pills out of her pocket, and a few bags of powder, and she emptied them into the water, making sure to keep aside the blue pills which she hoped were going to be her saviour.  She tossed away the bags and hoped she'd rid herself of any evidence of the drugs having been on her – hoping Logan would never sense that she'd had possession of them even temporarily, even if she hadn't planned on using them.

             But the blue pills however?  The blue pills she planned on using.  What harm could it do her?  She didn't even care to think, she reckoned the chance of any side effects were probably slim to none.  And besides, she needed to test the pills before Logan had a chance of finding her, she realised he was probably waking up right now.  His thoughts in her head had long since died. 

Rogue opened the bag, and took out a pill, and was about to put it to her mouth.

             "You sure you wanna be doin' that?"

             Rogue felt her muscles tense, and she turned towards the left end of the bridge, the way she'd come from, there was dark silhouette, hair stirring in the cold wind.  She recognised the voice at once, only…wasn't he meant to be in New Orleans.  "Remy?"

             "Chere," he responded, she saw his face light up as he clicked a lighter, a cigarette was dangling from his mouth, he held his hand up against the wind to shield the flame.  

             Rogue began to walk over slowly, the pill still in her hand, "You're meant to be in Louisiana…" she stated.

             "Oui," he nodded, "But I back for a spell."

             Rogue noted he'd only been gone two weeks and his accent was already sounding thicker than usual, she didn't care though.  "Why?"

             "I was concerned," Remy stated, "about you goin' to that party on your own…"

             "You were there?"

             "I made it there just as Logan caught you," He took a drag of his cigarette, and exhaled the smoke, he stepped under the street lights on the bridge, he had a small bruise on one cheek and a cut on the other, but he looked good, well rested and alert.

             "What happened to your face?" Rogue gestured to his cheek with her bare hands.

             "Been in a few scrapes with the Assassins, nothing I can't handle," he sat on the edge of the bridge, smoking his cigarette.  "You're not seriously gonna take them pills, are you?" he gestured to the baggie that was still in her hand full of the tiny blue pills.  

             "I…Remy, you don't know how much these could help."

             "I think I do, I heard the conversation in the toy factory, Chere…"

             Rogue gaped, "so…you know that it was Pinocchio that stole the stuff?"

             "I guess this rules me out as the chief suspect then, doesn't it?" He smirked a little, and exhaled smoke through his nostrils.

             "I guess it does," Rogue nodded.

             "Chere…y'know…you don't have to take those pills for me…" he looked at her.

             Rogue drew her breath, "don't flatter yourself…" she muttered, but yes, she did want to take those pills for him, she wanted to be able to kiss him, to even feel that unsightly goatee brush against her chin, to feel his lips brushing against hers in the way he'd kissed her that day in the library.  It had been so brief, but it stuck out in her mind as if it had been the longest kiss in the world, and had never ended yet.

             Remy looked at her, he tossed his cigarette over into the river, and he climbed off of the wall, he walked over, "you don't need to be taking pills, Marie…"

             "Remy, are you crazy?!  I can't TOUCH people, who needs to take these pills MORE than me?" she demanded, anger teeming inside of her, half of it felt as if it were just frustration that she could not be with him.

             Remy looked at her, "he took the baggie from her hand, and looked at it, "I'll take this…" he stated, forgetting Rogue still had one in her hand.

             Rogue looked at him, "Why are you doing this?!  You said we'd over come the touching thing, Remy, why are you taking away from me what could be the only cure?"

             "Chere, you don't want to be addicted to some drug the rest of your life," he walked over to the rivers edge, and opened the baggie.

             "Remy, no!" she screamed, she rushed towards him.

             He tipped the bag upside down, spilling the pills into the water, they disappeared into the murky depths.  Rogue looked at him, exasperated. 

             Remy looked at her, "You have one pill…" he finally remembered, "be strong, throw it in the water."

             "No…" Rogue stepped back from him.

             "Chere, you're above taking pills for kicks," he looked at her, "and that's all touching is, it's a kick, taken for granted by guys like me with girls like you," Remy's voice was firm, he sounded so sure that he was right.

             Rogue kept her eyes on him, "don't do this to me, Remy, please…you've done so much to me already that I can't take more, you made up lies and bullshit excuses, made me love you and let me find out the truth…" she looked at him, "you can't have me love you and not let me touch you…"

             "What if it kills you…"

             "It won't!" Rogue was upset.

             "What if it does?" He asked.

             "Then I'd die for something I wanted…"

             "You ain't much use to me dead, Chere," Remy pointed out.  "I can't love a corpse."

             "How do I know you even love me, Remy?" Rogue suddenly tried to change the subject, "You fucked off to New Orleans and didn't even CALL for two weeks, and while I was sitting up all night thinkin' about you, you were probably off screwing with your future wife!"

             "I'm not going to marry her, I already told you that," Remy stated.

             Rogue paused, wondering how she was going to get Remy's support on this, she then tried something else, "remember that night on Muir Island, Remy?" she asked softly, "in your room…" she looked at him.

             "How could I forget," he murmured.

             "What if we could have that…and so much more – tonight – because of this pill?" she held her hand up showing him the pill.

             Remy looked distressed for a moment, "I…no, no, I'm not gonna be tricked into letting you take some drug that's non-prescription just because there's a possibility of sex for me at the end of it," Remy turned away, leaning on the wall of the bridge, looking over into the murky water.  

             Rogue sighed, she stood holding the pill, she wanted so bad to take it, to see what might happen, all she wanted was Remy, she'd do it for him…but it wasn't what he wanted now, it was so confusing.  "What do you want from me?  If you don't want sex, then what IS it you want," she looked at him.  

             Remy glanced over his shoulder at her, "I want you to toss that pill in the water – so I can rest peacefully tonight that you'll still be alive in the morning when I wake up."

             She walked over to where he was, and looked down into the water, she sighed and held her open palm out – the pill sitting there.  She turned her hand over and let it drop, at the same time a sob escaped her.

             Remy slipped his arms around her carefully, and pulled her closer to him, "sssh…" he murmured.

             Rogue cried into his chest for a few moments, then a familiar voice startled them both.  

             "You two are in deep SHIT."

             Rogue turned around, drying her tears on her sleeve, noting her eyeliner had run a little.  Logan was standing at the end of the bridge looking at them with a not-too-happy expression.  Rogue looked at Remy and sighed, moving away from him, "lets go home…" she sighed.


	5. Chapter 5: Reprimanded

Chapter 5: Reprimanded

             "I cannot believe you did this!"

             Rogue winced, Professor Xavier rarely raised his voice in such a way, but now seemed the perfect time for him to – and she deserved it, she knew it deep down.

             Remy and Rogue were in Professor Xavier's office, Logan standing near the door.  Rogue was being reprimanded, Remy however, didn't have too much to do with the situation.  There was an uncanny silence, only the sound of the clock on Xavier's mantel could be heard, Rogue noted it was almost midnight.

             "Running out to a nightclub for adults!  Absorbing Logan's powers to render him unconscious and then you disappear for an hour only to be found with Remy!" Professor Xavier yelled.

             Rogue looked to the floor.

             "Professor?" Remy tried, "there is a reason for everything, perhaps we can try to explain…" Remy looked at the Professor with much concern.

             Professor Xavier frowned, "what reason would this be?"

             Rogue tried to think of a reason, and came up with nothing in her head.

             "Back on Muir Island, me and Rogue got the blame for a break in that was not our fault…we knew we didn't do it, of course, but we still felt as if we were the only suspects," Remy admitted, he looked at the Professor. 

             Rogue glanced towards Remy.

             "I heard rumours that there were drugs going around New York, drugs that could stop a mutants power…" he explained.  "So I called Rogue from New Orleans, told her to meet me at the nightclub, and I flew out quick as I could…" he lied.

             Rogue looked at him, god, he was so good at this lying.

             "She got to the nightclub before I did, and found out about the drugs…" Remy explained, "Before she even had the chance Logan dragged her out of there…"

             Logan frowned, "why didn't you say anything to me about this?" he demanded of Rogue.

             "You were mad at me, I didn't have a chance," Rogue lied, Rogue sighed and looked towards the Professor, "I found out where to get the drugs and I went there, Remy caught up with me…this guy selling them was in this old abandoned toy factory, so we shook him up and took all the drugs he had…and when we did we found out that he was the Muir Island thief – he took all those chemicals from Muir Island, Professor, not us…" she looked at him pleadingly.

             "His name is Pinocchio…" Remy remarked.

             The professor's eyes widened a little, "Pinocchio…I have not heard that name in years…"

             "Who is he Professor?" Rogue asked curiously.

             "A run away mutant I had taken in long ago…almost fifteen years ago…" Professor Xavier explained, "he has the ability to take absorb massive amounts of information and understand anything in a matter of seconds, even by looking at a machine he'd never seen before he could instantly work out how to operate it, dismantle it and put it back together – without even reading any information on the machine what so ever…"

             "So he was supersmart?" Rogue asked.

             "One way of putting it," Professor nodded, "his curse was that taking in all this information would leave him confused, and other memories of things would fade with every piece of information he would take in…almost like a small harddrive on a computer."

             Remy, who admittedly was less of a computer fanatic than most of the youth of America, was confused, "I don't understand…" he said.

             Rogue turned towards him, "like a computer that has maybe an 8 gigabyte harddrive, and you've stored about 7 gigabytes worth of information on it – and you want to store 2 more gigabytes of information on it – which you can't because there isn't enough room -  so you need to kind of clear some room out of whats already there to get more in," she explained.

             "Oooh," Remy nodded.

             "Anyway, after taking the drugs from Pinocchio, we disposed of them in the river," Rogue said to the professor, "we thought it would be safest for mutants that way…" she turned to Remy, "in case the pills weren't kosher," she explained.

             "I…see," The Professor looked as if he were understanding the story, "but why did you feel the need to handle this on your own – why did you not come to us."

             "Professor…" Remy looked at Professor Xavier, "Even though Rogue was with me when we found the Lab in the way it was, she still thought I was the one responsible for the break in – she didn't trust me, I knew I had to get her to come with me to solve the mystery so that I could be proven innocent," he explained.

             "I see…but still, you cannot go un-reprimanded for this," Professor Xavier looked at Rogue, "grounded for a month, with extra chores…" he looked at her.

             Rogue looked down sheepishly.

             "And there's still one more there's still one more thing that needs to be dealt with," Professor Xavier noted.  "You and Remy."

             Rogue felt her cheeks turn scarlet.

             "Professor, I assure you it's not what you think…" Remy tried.

             "Hank told me about you two sneaking away at night to be alone, and I'm not so thrilled with this piece of info, I've already spoken to Rogue about this of course," Professor Xavier stated, "But I want to confirm you two will be behaving in future…otherwise I can arrange for full time chaperoning for the pair of you," he looked at them both warning.

             "Professor, we can behave.  Just because there's a four year age difference between us doesn't mean that it's a bad thing…"

             "I understand that," Professor Xavier nodded, "but still…please tone down your behaviour – especially around each other.  And if you must date…you'll do it at reasonable hours, and have Rogue home BEFORE curfew," Professor Xavier saw Rogue's surprise.

             Rogue looked at the professor, "So we…can…date?"

             "Yes, but you both know the risks, so even though you are both intelligent young people I want to remind you to be patient and take all the necessary precautions," he looked at them both, "and before you ask, Remy, I am talking about Rogue's powers, not sex as you were thinking."

             Remy shrugged, "hey, an average guy thinks of sex at least once every ten minutes," he shrugged, "I can't help being average."

             "Indeed," Professor Xavier raised an eyebrow, "If you cannot abide by these rules, then I will do something about that libido of yours…putting a suggestion into your head might help."

             "Yeah, you could convince him he's a girl," Rogue smirked.

             Professor Xavier smirked, "I can have Jean braid your hair," he gestured to Remy.

             "I'll…keep that in mind," Remy drew his breath, touching his hair worriedly for a moment.

             "You can both go now," Professor Xavier stated, noting it was now after midnight.

             "Professor?" Remy asked, "I'm leaving in the morning, I need to go back to New Orleans right away, I only came back this one night…I was wondering—"

             "Yes?" Professor Xavier queried.

             "I know its after curfew and all for Rogue, would it be alright if we watched a movie together?  This may be the last time I see her in the next few months," he explained.

             Professor Xavier sighed, "Alright, since it is Halloween," he rolled his eyes.

             Rogue smirked, as if Halloween were like Christmas and could be made allowances for.  "Thanks, Professor," she pulled on Remy's sleeve and yanked him out of the office.


	6. Chapter 6: Happy Birthday

Chapter 6: Happy Birthday

             Remy and Rogue stepped into the Recreation room, it was surprisingly silent, no one was staying up late to watch Halloween movies, but then most of the others had gone out trick or treating which would be tiring for them – they were all probably sound asleep by now.  Rogue stepped into the dark room, there were three jackolanterns in the room, one on an end table, one in the corner on the floor, and one on top of the TV, their candles lit, their eyes and mouths flickering eerily – it lit the room up in a warm unnatural glow.

             Rogue turned the TV on, the classic of all classic horror movies was showing.  'Halloween'.  Rogue smirked a little, "this do?" she asked.

             "This is fine," Remy stated, he pulled his long leather trenchcoat off, and tossed it onto a chair, and then waited for Rogue to sit on the couch before he sat down himself.

             "This has been some night," Rogue yawned, she slid slightly closer to Remy, nervously, she'd never really wanted to be as close to him until after he'd left, he found it surprising when this time she made the first move towards him.  He looked at her and smiled a little.

             "That it has, Chere, that it has," Remy glanced at the clock on an end table nearby, it had the date on it, "wow, 1st November," he stated.

             "Yep," She stared at the screen, the movie had only been on for ten minutes, they hadn't missed any of the good stuff yet, 

             "Know what 1st November is?" he queried casually.

             "Nope, I have a feeling you're gonna tell me though," Rogue smirked.

             Remy slung his arm around her shoulders casually, "It's my birthday," he stated.

             "You're twenty now then?  Wow…" she chewed her lip, "seems so…dangerous, havin' a twenty-year-old's arm round me," she joked.

             Remy smirked, "seems so perverted havin' a sixteen year old with her hand on my knee," he remarked.

             Rogue looked down, seeing her hand was upon his knee, she had not even noticed, "whoops, sorry," she laughed nervously.

             "Leave it there if you want, I don't care," he shrugged, he looked towards the television.

             "Remy?  Why'd you lie for me?" Rogue asked.

"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow.

"In the Professor's office, why did you lie for me?"

"Because I'm a very good liar," Remy admitted, "and…I owe you," he looked at her, "I'm going to start making it up to you, Rogue, everything I did wrong, I'll make up to you, I mean it," he drew an invisible cross across his chest with his finger

Rogue looked at him, "are you sure you want to be with me, I mean REALLY sure?" she asked suddenly.

             "Course," he nodded, "If I didn't want to be with you, I wouldn't even BE here right now," he looked at her, "I don't usually stay anywhere long enough to be with anyone long term," he said.

             Rogue looked away, feeling once again concerned over the flings he'd talked about having in the past, "were they good?" she asked quietly.

             "Eh?" Remy was glancing at the screen.

             "The girls you've slept with, were they good?"

             "They were sufficient," Remy shrugged, "served a purpose if nothing else," he shrugged.

             "Remy!" Rogue gaped.

             "Huh?" he looked at her confusedly.

             "How could you have ever thought of women in that way?!" she demanded in shock.

             "It was the way they thought of me, Chere.  Most the girls I been with all wanted one night stands, it wasn't as if it wasn't mutual," he shrugged, "anyway, those day's are over now, for sure," he reminded.

             "How will I know that?" Rogue  demanded, "I mean how will I know you're not going around hanging out of every hooker in Louisiana or something?"

             "What, you gonna put a chastity belt on me now?" he asked. "Stop me from dipping my cookie into other girls milk?" he grinned.

             Rogue shoved him playfully, "you're so gross…"

             "You like that about me," Remy smirked, "otherwise you wouldn't put up with me," he rubbed her shoulder a little.

             Rogue rested her head against his shoulder, feeling exhaustion settling over her, she yawned a little, "I don't know why I put up with you."

             "Because I put up with you," Remy remarked.

             Rogue smirked, "probably," she watched the television for a moment, "Happy birthday, by the way…" she said after a time.

             "Thanks," he murmured.

             "What'd you wish for?"

             "I haven't blown out any candles yet, Chere," Remy reminded.  

             Rogue smirked, "so blow one out, there's one in that pumpkin on the TV," she gestured.

             "Alright," he smirked, and got up, she kicked his back side playfully as he stepped away.

             Rogue watched him take the lid off the jackolantern, and he blew the candle out, a soft white smoke rose from the tip of the candle into the air, Remy put the lid back on and then moved back to her.

             "Happy now?"

             "What'd you wish for?"

             Remy chewed his lip, "that I'll never do anything stupid to hurt you again," he looked at her.

             Rogue felt her heart melt, "really?" she smiled.

             "Really…I…I hurt you too many times already, couldn't stand it if I did it, again," he looked at her.

             "You won't hurt me again, Remy," Rogue convinced him.

             Remy looked at her, he only hoped she was right.

             Rogue rested back against him, with his arm around her, she felt protected and safe – and loved, and cherished, all the things she'd wanted to feel for the longest time.  She didn't even need to feel his skin to appreciate him right then.  She closed her eyes and began to drift into a peaceful sleep.

             When she awoke, it was seven am in the morning, and she was sprawled across the couch, on her own, she leaned up tiredly, yawning, noting Remy wasn't there.

             "Oh great, he left," she muttered bitterly to himself.  Seemed he was barely around long enough these days for her to get to know him better – as much as she wanted to.

             She sat up, remembering falling asleep in his arms, remembering  the last things they'd spoke about, she realised she was beginning to trust him again, and it felt nice, it felt reassuring.

             Something on the coffee table caught her eye.  A playing card face down on the coffee table, she picked it up and turned it around so that she could see the face, it was the ace of hearts.  She smirked a little to herself, but then felt terribly alone, wondering this time if he'd make it back to the X-Men – back to her.


End file.
